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Let me begin by saying that I know my opinion means nothing. That said, for my money, Tim McClelland is the best umpire in the major leagues, and Angel Hernandez has proven himself to be the worst. However, obviously MLB thinks otherwise, since Hernandez is also working the ALCS.
Todd Walker hit a ball deep down the right field line tonight that would have hit the foul pole, if not for a Yankee fan who reached around the pole and hit the ball. Hernandez, the RF umpire, called foul. McClelland, the home plate umpire and crew chief, overruled (correctly, in my opinion, on a relatively easy call) and said home run. Joe Torre didn't argue much.
Two points here...first, I don't know what deal with the announcers was...they couldn't tell if it hit the pole or not. The ball dropped straight down from the pole, meaning it hit the fan. If it had hit the pole, it would have caromed off and not dropped directly down. The ball was hit by the fan in the upper deck, by the way.
Second...Security, HELLO??? Why was this guy talking on his cell phone and not kicked out of the game? In every other instance this year when a ball is messed with by a fan like that, they boot the fan...that's why they announce the disclaimer before every game to NOT TOUCH the ball in the field of play. This ought to be something MLB enforces equally in each ballpark.
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